Emmerdale spoilers follow, while the article also contains discussion of themes including sexual assault.
Emmerdale’s Charity Dingle has bravely spoken up about her horrific ordeal with Dr Todd. Over the past few episodes, Dr Todd has put Charity through hell, first attempting to blackmail her regarding baby Leyla’s parentage and then sexually assaulting her.
However, the villain’s hold over Charity came to an end after her accidental death at the hands of Sarah Sugden. But the situation is far from over, as Charity has decided to take responsibility for Dr Todd’s death to protect her granddaughter.
ITV
Police pressure is mounting on Charity as more evidence has since come to light, which might work against her and Sarah if it went to court. In tonight’s episode (13 August), Charity opens up about the torment Dr Todd put her through.
DS Ramsden questioned Charity about her withholding of information regarding Jacob’s work with Dr Todd, to which she expressed that she didn’t think it was important when compared to what she’d done to her.
Jacob’s complaint about Dr Todd’s bullying is then brought up, and Charity and her solicitor attempted to deny any connection between Sarah and Dr Todd. However, DS Ramsden wasn’t convinced and threatened to call Sarah back in for additional questioning.
Later on, Sarah waited at the police station until Charity was brought out. She revealed that she only came to the station to check on her gran, only to find that Charity had been released. But when pressed by DS Ramsden for a quick chat, Sarah declined, which earnt her a suspicious look from the police officer.
Charity and Sarah reunite with the rest of the family at The Woolpack, who questioned her on what happened, much to Charity’s dismay. When she attempted to leave, Cain demanded an answer from her and asked her: “What are you not telling us?”
“She raped me,” Charity replied. “She assaulted me, if that helps you understand it.”
ITV
Cain attempted to further ask her about the assault, to which Charity asked if she could talk about it later. Later on, Sarah revealed Charity’s previous reporting of the assault, which was dropped due to lack of evidence.
When Charity reappears, they all apologise to her, but Charity doesn’t acknowledge it as “there’s nothing we can do” and that they need to continue living as normal.
However, Mackenzie Boyd, who was lingering around, meets Charity upstairs and the two chat, where she reiterated the same story, though it seems as though Mack still has his doubts. What will happen when the truth finally comes to light?
Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 8pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.
Read more Emmerdale spoilers on our dedicated homepage
If you’ve been affected by the issues raised in this story, you can access more information from Rape Crisis England and Wales, which works towards the elimination of all forms of sexual violence and sexual misconduct, on its website or by calling the National Rape Crisis Helpline on 0808 802 9999. Rape Crisis Scotland’s helpline number is 08088 01 03 02.
Readers in the US are encouraged to contact RAINN, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800-656-4673.